The Acolyte’s unique, pre-prequel setting gave it the freedom to ignore most of Star Wars canon, but there is one famous Sith who was around at the time: Emperor Palpatine’s master, Darth Plagueis. While not seen during the prequel trilogy, Palpatine told Anakin all about Plagueis to help win the young Jedi to his side in Revenge of the Sith.
The season finale of The Acolyte finally gave us a look at the mysterious Sith, as we see Darth Plagueis peer out from a cave on the planet where Osha and Qimir form their uneasy alliance. But why is he still lurking in the shadows? The answer may lie in one of the central mysteries of the Skywalker Saga.
One of the few things we know about Darth Plagueis is that, as Palpatine explained, he was a Sith “so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life.” That power — to spontaneously create life with the Force — is identified by Sol as the true method Mother Aniseya used to create Osha and Mae.
Plagueis presumably had to learn the skill from somewhere. Why not the twins who were created by Aniseya? If Qimir is really Plagueis’ apprentice, then perhaps Qimir is being used to lure one of the twins to the Dark Side. Once they’re on board, Plagueis could study them to learn how to create life with the Force, a skill he’d become infamous for a century later. In canon, it’s still unclear just what he wants with this power, but it’s unlikely Plagueis wants to make himself the perfect puppy. Whatever experiments are coming will no doubt be creepy.
Beyond Plagueis, remember that Anakin Skywalker was also seemingly “born of the Force.” Did the Force just spontaneously create him, or are Osha and Mae the prototypes for Star Wars’ most important character?
Emperor Palpatine would become obsessed with creating life, and would attempt to create Force-sensitive clones of himself to middling success. Now, with Osha willing to train as a Sith, we may see how Plagueis — and thus, Palpatine — gained this power. Palpatine was a careful plotter. Did he use the Force to try creating the perfect apprentice for himself?
Anakin’s true heritage has long been a mystical, unexplainable element of Star Wars. But with Darth Plagueis now tantalizingly close to someone “born of the Force,” we may actually learn how the Skywalker Saga truly began.
